I'm afraid I'm a bit more cynical than that. Most people want what is best for them, in the short run. Or more precisely, what they think is best for them, because most people can't figure out what is really best for them. And being people, they usually tend to convince themselves that what they think is best for them is best for everybody.

When others disagree with them, they tend to conflict with them, usually convincing themselves that those who have different views are either lazy, evil, stupid, or otherwise deluded. This leaves them with little alternative but to feel that those bad people are not like them, that is, they are not hard-working, pious, patriotic, creative, innovative, law-abiding, risk-takers like they are. And that the other guys really want something for nothing. They are either "the poor people who want our stuff and don't want to work for it", or "the rich people who have stolen our stuff and won't give us an even break". The funny thing is that they are both right.

As long as the economy is growing and prosperity is expanding, the inevitable clash is postponed. But when things start to unravel, either because of bad policy, bad luck, historical accident, or because one side or both just gets greedy and lazy, then the system starts to get unstable.

That's usually when one side or the other gets violent. Well, there's plenty of blame to go around for everybody, but unfortunately, sometimes neutrality is not an option. You have to pick sides, whether you like it or not. Most people pick what they think is the winning side. And they talk themselves into believing that is the right side. We are about as predictable as molecules in a gas.